steve, great to see you. the deal being bandied about right now to raise taxes on higher earners actually doesn't appear to do anything to fix the problem, that is, all the new revenue from higher taxes would be used for more spending. as we understand about 850 billion in new revenue would be spent on eliminating the fiscal cliff automatic spending cuts and extending unemployment checks. is it true not a dial would go to cutting the real problem, the debt and deficit? >> yeah. in one scenario that is absolutely the case. we shouldn't actually be surprised. it has been clear at least for a short amount of time that this hasn't been the goal of these discussions. i mean for all the talk about deficit reduction and despite the fact that this began as an effort to rein in spending after the 2010 elections, it is clear democrats in the house and senate, i would argue the president, haven't been serious about long-term spending cuts. gregg: maybe they're not serious, you know, they see a political benefit to liter